September 27, 2008

Men are from Mars, women are from venus... say's the title of a book. Me thinks women might have to go to Venus to get married! Why? Read on..

3 of my good female friends are planning to get hitched. All 3 are CAs, working for reputed organisations. This one is about one of them. She has commited a crime of doing a MBA too after CA. Yes, that is a crime as far as the matrimonial market goes. To add to the dual qualifications, she looks fab. Don't be jealous girls, some of them come with all the luck. Now, the parents of the waiting-to-get-married girls are worried. They are not finding any 'suitable' groom. If everything from family background to habits to nature to looks are approved by the waiting-to-be-married girl, the point comes to how well is the guy 'settled'. The groom's parents suddenly have swelled chests and they say he earns a lac of moolahs every month. Oops, that hurts. It is ONLY about 65% of what the girl earns. No actually, 64.32% on a in-hand salary basis. Similar situations surround the other two friends too.

Economic boom has helped all. More so, a CA+MBA. Each year's appraisal makes marriage more improbable for her! Close to 40%-50% hikes with a big booty of bonus. We men have BIG egos. Wife earning more than us, and we knowing about it.. no ways!.. is how many thinks.

Possible solutions? Like for tax purposes, show lower income. Risky, since it has to be hidden for a long long time. The taxman does not sleep on the same bed with you, husband sometimes does. :)

Or perhaps go to the HR and ask them to cut your salary. Ask for a demotion. Underplay yourself. Nay, not acceptable gals, rite?

Or resign and be a good homemaker. What is left in the corporate rat race anyways... Resign, my left foot - I hear from my friends.

Well, then two choices left for you sweetheart. Read this book - 'Why marriage sucks' - and spend the rest of your life. Or, plan for a trip to Venus where you originally came from apparently.

September 26, 2008

I am not a gift person. I mean I do accept gifts most times am given, but do not give a lot of gifts. But whenever I have, I really really felt like giving. However, two of the most important ones have gone awfully wrong. Both to people I like and respect a lot. In fact, one of them did not even see the gift!

How's that for a track record? Didn't some one say people like to receive gifts? Trying to find that idiot...

September 20, 2008

Read this in a newspaper today. A German bank based in Berlin sacked 3 of its employees this week. Apparently they transferred 350 million euros to Lehman Brothers by mistake, a day after the latter filed for bankruptcy!

What a weird mistake.. On a normal day, they would have got the money back. But then these are not normal days!

September 17, 2008

While surfing through channels yesterday, I hit upon this show in Star World called 'The moment of truth'. It is a kind of game show but the concept struck me. It works like this. The contestant is asked about 21 questions to which he has to reply truthfully. If he lies, it will be caught. Before the show, the contestant is asked a lot of questions (about 50) and is put through a kind of lie detection tests (polygraph test) checking his answers. In the main show, few questions out of the ones asked to him earlier are asked. Obviously he has to answer them truthfully now.

There are 6 levels of questions, and the contestant keeps earning money as he clears them. 6 questions in first level, 5 in the next, then 4, 3, 2 and the final question in level 6. As the level progresses, questions get very 'tricky'. The contestant is accompanied by family and friends and everything is happening before them.

I do not know whether you realize by now the gravity of the concept. Earn money for being truthful. Your answers can shock many. They could be potential family-breakers. In the episode I saw, some of the questions asked were:

Do you think your father worked hard enough to provide for the family? His answer was No.

Do you think your wife likes your mother? His answer was Yes.

Have you lost interest in your wife sexually after having a baby? His answer was No.

Have you ever had sex with any of your wife's friends? His answer was Yes.

Do you think your father loves you even today after having a divorce with your mother? (This question was asked by his dad himself who was called as a guest in the show) His answer was Yes.

These questions were a part of the 11 questions of the first two levels. I could not continue watching the show since mom had a serial coming up. I can't even imagine how bad the questions can get at higher levels.

Now, what do you think of this show? I am perplexed. Well, the concept is straight-forward. If you have been truthful to your loved ones, you can simply go out there and win all the money (total prize money of USD 5lacs ONLY). If not, it can be a disaster.

It is not about being truthful on the show. It is more about whether you have been truthful to your loved ones all your life before coming on to the show.

September 16, 2008

This one is on public demand! Just kidding... trying to answer the tricky question - money or love?

The problem here is, one can be quantified, the other can't be. Anyone who says money is not important is either lying or has spent his lifetime trying to get it but has failed. The story of sour grapes. Trust me.

Money is necessary, period. The point is, how much? That is the tricky part. I think one can go on and on but still not be able to figure out how much is enough. 50lacs? A crore? 10 of them? I have no idea, even if I have to speak for myself.

But, and there is a but here, why should it be a choice - love or money? Any money acquired beyond a point at the cost of love is just not worth it, if it ever is a choice. Irrespective of whether that point is 5lacs or 50lacs.

Now, on to love side. I have been trying hard but cannot think of anyone who is not loved at all. Every body is, I am sure. Even an orphan would have friends. Love is not a function of relationships. Love is a function of how good a person you are, in absolute sense.

Apart from family and relatives, I am loved by many I know. I love a lot of people. In many senses. Never has any of them been a function of or choice with money. Never ever.

So where is the need for trying to trade off between love and money? If there still comes such a point in my life, would stick to the point I made earlier.

The ultimate objective is to feel happy end of the day. Money helps achieve this to a large extent. Love too does it, but inconsistently I believe. Money can surely help eradicate many problems. Love, I am not very very sure as much as I am about money. Money and love both can multiply by giving. Yes, even money. Finally, they both have to be given to people who deserve them. Or else you will regret it for the rest of your life, especially if it's love.

September 15, 2008

We are quite happy a lot of times in life. Reasons could be umpteen. Now think about this. Is the happiness to be considered real and genuine only when you feel like sharing it with someone? And then you actually go on and share the happiness. Or else, does the happiness wither away? Just dries off the moment you stop thinking about it?

Should happiness be shared? Is it only then that it is real?

Would appreciate your thoughts on this seemingly tricky question. Please do comment...

September 11, 2008

... about 3,000 people belonging to over 90 nationalities died on this day in 2001.

A lot has changed since then, there have been several more attempts to hurt peace globally. Many have succeeded. The divide in this great race of humanity is clearly visible. What were once probably seen as reasons to be proud of, have become reasons to worry about. Religion is arguably the worst hit. Wealth related instabilities follow closely.

Since the inauspicious day of 2001, the damage done to the credibility of a particular community is extremely disappointing too. A lot has been generalised, unecessarily. A lot of books, movies and videos have been created to try and iron out the differences between the communities. Hope they have the desired impact.

The world is getting smaller, but the proximity increasingly means easier ways of getting struck.

The world is getting smarter and intelligent, yet the intelligence is to destroy not create.

The world has more languages than ever before, yet they are not used to communicate and share more than before but to create ruckus.

The world has more wealth than any time before, yet more are left poorer than wealthier.

A lot of us in this world have no clue as to where we are headed and what should be done with what we have, yet few others among us are spending a fortune to try and understand how all this might have started!

Sitting somewhere up there with a cup of coffee and few Parle-G biscuits, GOD surely must be smiling seeing all this...

September 10, 2008

In this exciting world, everything is extremely dynamic. Time, climate, people, situations, relationships, events and so many other things are so variable. I guess that is what makes the entire 'game' exciting at the first place. Take relationships for instance. Think of a person whom you liked the most 10 years back. The person with whom you spent a lot of your time with. Are they still the same today? In my case, the 10 years also is a long period. The people might still be around, but the depth of relationship has diluted significantly. And more importantly, for no 'fault' of either of us (fault in quotes because I do not think it's a fault in any case). Likewise, some relationships has gained a lot of value over the same period. I 'just knew' someone 6 years back. Now, a day does not pass without talking to him.

How interesting! At some points, I was disappointed about the dilution of few relationships. Now, I look back and simply smile at myself thinking how childish I was. But perhaps, I will again feel odd when one of my exisiting 'strong tie' weakens.

I had written a piece a long time back - What's the BIG picture? I have come to understand the same concept so much better today than when I wrote it. I can appreciate the same thoughts in a much better manner. Strange but true.

Relationships are only a case in point. There are so many 'noises' around. I am simply reacting most of the time. Probably every moment that I'm awake, I'm reacting to situations and events around - consciously or sub-consciously.

I want to stop reacting. I want to close my ears from the noise deafening my mind. I want to talk at least 50% less than usual. Every single day. I want to sense the only constancy within and around me, and that's me. Once I feel the constancy in me, I will see and feel the same steadiness in everything around me.

September 4, 2008

My internet connection has been acting quite funny all these days. Not that I had great thoughts to share, wanted to still update on my trip to Dharamshala. To be frank, personally it really does not matter much where I am going as long as I am with people I want to be with. Like the 2 friends (Lakshmi and Romesh) I went with. It was always supposed to be a great trip and it indeed was.

We started our trip by flying to Delhi. From there we were off to Agra by road to see the magnificent Taj Mahal. The monument, with all the hype and expectations that I had in my mind, still turned out to be simply brilliant. I cannot forget the first view of Taj for the rest of my life. I have not seen the other wonders of the world, but in absolute sense there is no list possible without the Taj being included in it.

Delhi to Taj and back was a good 8 hours by road. I love road travels. The fun quotient in a lot of my trips, including this one, has been augmented by the road travels. We had an evening train to catch for Pathankot in Punjab, the connecting place for Dharamshala. During the day we roamed around Delhi. Went to see Qutubminar, India Gate, Lotus Temple, etc. I have said this before in one my earlier posts. I am a huge fan of Delhi roads and infrastructure. Love the place...

Delhi to Pathankot is a 10-hours journey by train. We spent most of this time catching up on sleep. We reached Pathankot at about 7.30am. A 3-hours road journey took us to Dharamshala. Dharamshala is a small-time town near Kangra valley in Himachal Pradesh. We stayed at the Club Mahindra resort there. Romi is a member of their resorts. The only eligibility that he has for being my friend.. hehehehe (Romi, are you reading this?)

There is a lot to talk about the place and trip. A lot of ‘highlights’ is our intra-group happenings. But it is good if it remains within our group! I will list down a few things worth mentioning.

The good ones...

Dhabas: All through the trip, we relished authentic dhaba food. Amazing food at places that looks shabby. Amazing paranthas and tandoor chicken - yummmmyyy. Delicious, not very oily, reasonable and authentic food at most places we chose to have our food.

Lakes and water falls: One thing that characterizes Himachal is the clear water lakes and waterfalls all across. It is amazing. The look, feel and touch.

Greenery: For someone going from Mumbai, any place can boast of more greenery. Still, this place has to be one of the ‘greenest’ I have seen. One of the best phases of the trip was our trip from Dharamshala to Jyot, the highest reachable peak of the valley. The journey was amazing. Between clouds, lovely climate and lush green valleys... Jannat!

People: Good people at most places including babes!

The not so good ones…

Hotel: The location of the hotel, the views from there, the facilities and the staff – all were negatives. Food was ok. Loved the gajar halwa a lot. Yummy again...

As I said earlier, the trip was lovely for I was with great friends. For those who know about our group, me and Romi had huge arguments twice during the trip. As usual. Something that has been a feature of the way we are for the last 6 years.